Black and Purple 2
by Hoaryu
Summary: With Blanc and Vert finally making their feelings known to each other we turn our attention back to Noire as she and Neptune go about their business, despite the...trouble the former one causes from time to time. Little did Noire realize that her fidgety ways sit well with someone, and that someone is a lot closer than she thinks...
1. Chapter 1

_Friends don't let friends play MMOs, unless they can commit to them. That is all. With that out of the way I'm sure you can guess why it's been so long since I've posted something...if you've been waiting for something, that is. But you're not here for news, you're here for the Nepus and I'm happy to oblige with an addition to the BxP WxG series with, as the title suggests, even more of the former. I don't want to spoil too much but here's hoping, as usual, my accidental trip into MMOs didn't lower the quality of my work._

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-Tune in for another justice filled episode of The Never Surrender Hero!-

I can't believe Nisa has a show and that it's...kind of decent. Although I'm sure that's just because I'm watching this with Neptune, I can't possibly enjoy something like this on my own...I think. It hasn't been too long since our surprise sports outing and things couldn't have been better...well, some things could. I haven't had many chances to put the advice Blanc gave to use, but the few times I could I think Neptune noticed improvements in our...goofing around. It's only a matter of time before-

"Noire!"

"Oof!" I had hoped sitting on the edge of her bed would've stopped her doing her after-episode 'Love Justice Tackle' but this is Neptune after all.

"Whadja think about this week's episode?" Her eyes had that wonderful shine to them as she waited for my answer with anticipation. "Nisa's a pretty cool gal when she's on TV, and there's finally someone on the show that can keep her on her toes."

"It was an interesting episode I suppose, she had some nice poses during her speeches and attacks." The special effects combined with the inspirational music actually struck a chord in me, but if I said that I'd never hear the end of it. "That pale girl wasn't all that bad either, it really seemed like she was out for blood."

"Sounds like someone's impressed~."

"N-no I'm not!" Although I'm pretty curious what our own poses and speeches would be like if we did that sort of thing. Mine would be the best of course, whereas Neptune would probably rant about not having snacks on the go while Vert and Blanc bicker amongst themselves like they usually do. Maybe I can convince everyone to talk their sister into trying out this...ugh, it's hard to concentrate with Neptune beaming that dumb smile down on me. "You want to get off of me now? It's almost time for us to get back to work and we can't afford to slack off."

She shot me a mischeivous grin and got a good grip on my arms. "You know as well I do that I don't want to get off of you. I am the villain here after all and I've got you in my clutches. What ever shall Black Heart do in this perilous situation as her captor draws closer for the conversion?" Conversion? What does...uh oh, she's getting closer! I-It's a battle!Treat it like a battle and you'll make it through!

"H-ha! It's going to take more than what you have planned to bring me over to your side!" That's good, I just need to think of a way to stall until I think of something. She's got me held down pretty well but I think I've got a way to turn the tables. "If you defeat me you'll never get that special chocolate again."

"Whoa whoa wait a minute! I really liked that stuff..." She completely dropped her guard, as expected, and sat up straight as the thought of no more pudding-filled chocolate hit her. "Come on Noire, I was totally in the mood for some foolin' around and you had to go and ruin it."

I bucked a little to my side and threw Neptune off of me before taking advantage of her saddened state. She did her best to resist but her morale was completely shot and I grabbed her hands, pinning them near her shoulders and doing my best to keep myself from freaking out as usual. "Wh-what's the problem? Villains like you don't deserve sweets, unless of course, you're willing to change."

"Were you serious about me not getting any of whatever you call it? What DO you call it?"

The look of concern on her face was almost too cute, but I probably shouldn't tease her too much about this or she'll think I actually mean it. "Of course I'm serious, only good girls get things like...you know, I don't have a name for it yet." I eased up on her as I tried to remember what Vert called our concoctions, but all I could recall was how much work we put into balancing the unique blend of ingredients. While thinking to myself I ended up going easy on her and letting go of her, but still keeping the dominate position, without realizing until just now that she looked even more desperate than earlier. "Oh quit pouting, you know I'm joking. We haven't heard from Gust in a while so getting more of that..." It was chocolate for Neptune, what could I possibly call it? "...Choco-Nep will have to wait."

What in the world was I thinking? Choco-Nep? Ugh, I could've done so much better than that... "Ha ha ha, Choco-Nep? That's perfect!" At least she thought it was funny and cheered up after her initial scare, I can't have her moping around over something as little as that before we begin our work. Coming here around noon gave us enough free time before and after the show, but we can't shirk our duties forever. "Ok fine, I'll get ready." She tried getting up but I gave her a firm push with the tip of my finger on her forehead to stall for a little more time.

I glanced at the clock and saw we were still a little early, and since Neptune insists on me taking a page from her book I've decided to not budge until the exact time hit. "You can wait a few more seconds, I think I'm enjoying the view from up here. No wonder you enjoy getti-"

"Hey Neptune! There's another critter infestation near Virtua Forest that...we can..." Oh no, not again. "S-sorry, I didn't know you two were...I'll go..." I turned to reach out toward her to try and explain that it wasn't what it looked like but I was too late. I only got a glimpse of her foot as she ran away, dropping a sheet of paper that floated lazily in our direction.

"Are we really that bad when it comes to 'us'?" I let Neptune roll out from under me and we sat down normally facing the empty doorway. "I mean, we haven't done anything serious yet but...maybe we should tone it down?" She looked even sadder than I did and I wanted to hold her hand for comfort and but something just hit me...I don't really know her sister. Well, I don't know her as well as I should considering how close Neptune and I have gotten.

"Maybe we should...Gear's been acting funny even since I recovered from our first incident." She sighed and leaned back before getting up. "She's been trying to find more things for us to do, and I'm starting to think she's getting a little too...clingy. I don't mind a little quest here and there but she's trying to pile it on. Guess it's time for a little chit chat or something..."

I got off the bed as well and placed my hand on her shoulder to show her she wasn't alone in this. "Right behind you, if you don't mind me tagging along, that is." In light of the current situation I still managed to smile out walked with her to her sister's room, which was only two rooms apart. That wasn't the guest room and neither of them had any idea what's in there since it's been locked for as long as they can remember.

We arrived in a matter of seconds and sure enough Nepgear's door was firmly shut. "Come on Gear, it wasn't what you think. We were actually getting ready to work...on shares! Not that unimportant stuff," she looked at me and shook her head, as if I needed to know she didn't mean I wasn't important and tried opening the door, but failed thanks to the lock. "the stuff you've been wanting to do. Honestly, Noire was getting ready to leave and we'd be able to knock out that list that's been growing, Histoire is starting to get freaked out." J-just how big is this list? This has to be one of Neptune's gross exaggerations, I can't see her oracle being afraid of...a giant roll of paper. No, that's silly, why did such a thought even cross my mind?

The door unlocked slowly and Nepgear peered out from the small opening she peeked through. "Was she careful this time?"

"Wh-" Neptune crammed my words back into my face as she played it off as an innocent stretch of her arms. For such a casual motion it still managed to sting a little and it caught me off guard.

"She didn't have any reason to, all we did was watch The Hero Who Never Surrenders. Maybe a hug or two in between commericials but that's all." She shrugged and backed up to let her sister step out, who took a single look at me and just...looked at me. "I didn't think she'd really follow me, guess she cares about you huh?"

"I guess..." What did I do to deserve this? I've been nothing but good to her so I can't imagine how I offended her.

"Nepgear." I stopped her as she set foot in her room and didn't cut any corners in finding out what the problem was. "If there's anything you want to say to me feel free to get it off your chest." She looked at Neptune, then back at me before I realized what she wanted. "Hey Neptune, mind letting us talk by ourselves for bit?"

She silently gave us the ok signal and walked off without a second look. "Um...I don't know how to say this exactly. But..."

"There's no need to be afraid of how you say it." I motioned for her to head back into her room and we both took a seat at the only table not cluttered with little tools and models. "We haven't really had a chance to talk like this ever since...sorry. Now come on, speak your mind."

"I don't want you hurting Neptune anymore."

"Wha..." I've traded blows with my fellow goddesses on several occasions, but nothing has ever hit me as hard the words that Nepgear uttered. "Wh..." It felt as if everything began spinning as I struggled to eke out a simple 'what'.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like a threat or anything. It's just after the accident with her eyes, followed by her back, and on top of all the minor little bumps I'm just really worried about my sister's health." Am I...am I really that much of a twitchy wreck around Neptune? She insisted on playing that stupid dot game Blanc's little sisters showed it off to her! I knew I should've back out but she begged and pleaded so much, and when it happened she didn't even blame me for it. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. It's nothing." I had finally gotten over my shock and caught my breath in time to address her concern, but there has to be something I can do to earn her trust and show Neptune is in good hands. "I know you probably won't believe me but I've gotten a lot better at controlling my...your sister's been fine lately. I'm more worried about us though, we've barely spent any time together, and I'm sure Uni would like to-" That's it!

"Uni would like to what?"

I held a finger up to ask for a moment to call my own little sister. "Uni, I need you to come over to Planeptune as soon as possible, no questions asked. No buts, this is important." This idea has given me newfound confidence in my ability to show Nepgear that I'm more than capable of taking care of Neptune...by taking care of her! Not only that but we'll be spending quality with our significant other's younger sister, so it'll be a learning experience for everyone. "How would you like to visit Lastation for a while?"

"Huh? What about Neptune and the list of things she'd help me with?" She looked at me quizzically before going into her closet and pulling out a...massive sheet of paper that when held straight up, almost hit the floor. Neptune wasn't joking after all, this is worse than I thought.

"I'll help you with what I can, of course. Think of it like this," I got up to help her with her list and rolled it up tightly for her. "You and Uni get to live in each other's shoes and Neptune gets a little break from me." I thought my wording could've been better, but she seemed to like the thought of her big sister being relieved of me temporarily. I just have to press on just a little more... "You'll be doing her a favor as well."

That was enough to bring a smile to her face and she went to pack her things. I'm afraid of what that list might have on it, but I'm sure after defeating a few key monsters and showing her around the Lastation basilicom I'll win her over. I wish I could say the same for Uni, since Neptune's way of doing work is...unorthodox to say the least. She's my sister after all, so am I'm sure she'll be fine and might even teach that pudding fiend a thing or two.

"I have to what?"

"You're going to be standing in for Nepgear as Neptune's sister for a little while." We were all standing just outside of Planeptune's basilicom as Uni stood there dumbfounded at my response. Minus Neptune of course, who was ok with the plan when I relayed it to her on way out. I'm not asking her to do any extensive work like back home and she's only going to be with Neptune, who'll probably take it easy on her. "That's not a problem, is it? You could stand to try to get along with Neptune, I think I can count the times you've been in the same room with her on one hand."

"I don't have a problem with her or anything, but you could've told me that much so I could properly pack up or something. What am I supposed to do for clothes?"

"You can borrow some of mine, I don't mind." Nepgear chimed in, who had only brought a small pack containing that disturbingly long list and some tools she insisted on bringing. "I mean, if you don't want to I-"

"Tch, I don't, but since you're offering it'd be rude of me not to." Uni's denial and fidgety motions remind me of something I've seen countless times but I can't quite pinpoint what exactly. Is this deja vu? No, it can't be, it probably isn't anything important. "So...what am I supposed to do?"

"Show Neptune how great of a sister you can be." I gave her a farewell hug and let Nepgear lead the way out of Planeptune and after a few minutes we were already leaving the city borders. The farewell was a little sudden but I couldn't afford to have her try to get out of this. "Would you like to knock out some of those quests? I'm guessing there's something near here we can complete before heading Lastation."

"Actually yeah, there's a pack of wild Dogoos that are up to no good being a nuisance to travelers." She explained as she peered off into the distance. "They weren't a big concern at first since adventurers handled it, with the exception of one always getting away. From the data I, or rather IF and I gathered, that one Dogoo rarely fights and always comes back with another pack and hasn't joined the actual attacks...until now."

"Wow." I'm a little surprised at the amount of work she's put into something involving what's basically fodder. "Do you put this much work into more...threatening things?" I wouldn't mind getting a look at her bestiary if she has info on some of the more exotic monsters out there, any information on them would be a great read.

"What other things?" She turned and looked at me with a confused look on her face before scanning the area again. "Whenever Neptune and I hunt together it's usually things that are a common menace to the people, like Dogoos, Sunflowerys, and the occasional Golem. She sometimes solo things during our downtime but I don't think it's fair to take away big game from adventurers who need it."

I don't have the heart to tell her that her courtesy is why she's severely lacking in experience. Little things like this don't often provide a lot of Shares, and if someone really wanted to pick that quest they would've already done so. Not to mention that we get a little extra boost in Shares for doing the work ourselves... "Doesn't fighting these things get...boring after a while?" That can't be the real reason she choose not to fight anything worth mentioning...

"Not really, it's weird but getting rid of them is kind of fun because they're really cute. Watching them fade away, with Neptune of course, never gets old for some reason." That's a little...surprising coming from someone like her. Does she really enjoy killing cute things or did I hear that wrong? "There they are!"

I looked in the direction she was pointing and not far from us was a gathering of the blue slime monsters. Nepgear drew her saber and waited for me to do the same, but I think I'll try one last time to convince her otherwise, she's better than this. "Are you sure you want to waste time taking care of small fry like this? I think-" Her stance had started to lose its initial vigor and I could see the disappointment welling up within her, similar to Uni during outings and sparring whenever I felt her performance was...inadequate. I keep forgetting that I'm with Neptune's sister and I have to take a different approach, so I drew my own sword and tried to turn things around. "I-I was only making sure you wanted to go through with this. I...have trouble holding back against cute things as well and didn't want to take too many of them from you."

I didn't know what else to say but at least she perked back up. "I'll have you know I almost always score higher than Neptune!" She charged towards the group, saber ready, leaving me behind to play catch up.

"Nepgear, wait!" It's one thing to make it a competition but not when there's some unknown force at work. There's a reason this mob keeps coming back and I'm sure it has to do with the one that always gets away. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it and letting my experience with tougher monsters affect my judgement. Maybe I should go along with Nepgear's little game since I haven't been trying my hardest to slack off for a while. "You better save some for me!" I just hope that my nagging feeling is just that, and I show my lazy half's sister how it's done...


	2. Chapter 2

_It's really hard to balance writing and games when you have several fun ones to play for once, the main one being Re;birth1. I'll stop there because I don't want to rant on and on about how it improved several things over previous games and get back on topic...although that's one of the reasons I'm going so slow. Again this is written with nothing but an idea in mind and from the heart, this time with the focus being Noire and her bonding with Nepgear, who seems to be off but that will be explained in due time. I will say this though, stress balls seem more appealing to people who are well, stressed. Oh, and let me know how you felt about this event because I plan on getting more creative with other things in Gamindustri._

_Rin Satsuki - It's been a while since I've uploaded something and I only did a few proofreads, and I think I might've auto-corrected things in my head without thinking. If you see anything that stands out a lot feel free to pm me because I can be pretty blind sometimes. This goes to anyone else if you want to lend a helping hand._

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"Hyaah!" Nepgear was already clearing out the pitiful creatures by the time I caught up and she was really getting into it. "Here's another!" Three more Dogoos fell to her in a circular swing that also gravely wounded two others and forced them to retreat. She's a little too into it, I don't remember hearing about this kind of aggression from Neptune.

I silently cut through a small group of my own and brought the number of Dogoos down to a mere handful. I carefully looked at each of them in order to try and find the slippery one that keeps getting away, but with no luck. They all looked exactly the same as they bounded around with their tails wagging while they defended themselves. All but one, who sat perfectly still...waiting...watching our every move through its beady eyes. "Nepgear, slow down for a minute."

She unleashed a clumsy two-handed downward strike, sending a wave of energy in a line through the ground that wavered near the end, destroying all but two Dogoos. "Hah...hah..."

"Nepgear!"

"Yes?" I can't tell whether or not it's the adrenaline coursing through her that's making her act this way, but she needs to calm down.

"There's something wrong with that Dogoo, look." I pointed at the one that had been biding its time, as opposed to the other one that was slowly cowering away from us. I took a quick step forward, making it turn tail and run away whimpering. "See? That one's-"

"An easy target!" I jumped in front of Nepgear and tried to get her to settle down while holding her back. "Ngh...why are you stopping me?" She stopped struggling after a few seconds when she realized I wasn't going to let her go until she stopped and listened to me.

I eased up on her and explained why she should exercise a little caution. "This thing has been a constant occurrence in your reports, right? Think about it for a second. Why are you so anxious to attack?"

"It's nothing..." She said quietly before suddenly breaking into a sprint towards the immobile monster. What in the world has gotten into this girl...and why is the ground shaking?!

"BOWOOOOO!" A large snout quickly jutted out of the ground, stopping Nepgear in her tracks before a large mass of blue goo followed suit, sending Nepgear into the air.

I transformed and launched myself as high as I could in order to catch her while she did the same in an attempt to slow her descent. Grabbing her by the waist I carefully guided us back down, ending up behind the slime duo and catching our breath before speaking. "Th-" I had second thoughts on giving Nepgear a little scolding for recklessly charging ahead, but she already looked frustrated enough with tears welling up in her eyes. "Let's be a little more careful from now on. I'll go in first this time and you follow up from behind." Her whole body is shivering now but she nodded her head in response. The enemy hasn't even turned to face us, so they're either stupid or arrogantly waiting for our next move. I counted down from three for Nepgear to get ready and I lunged forward, sword at the ready for anything that could be thrown my way.

"BOHOO!" The massive Dogoo, who was larger than the average bi-pedal dragon, began quivering and arced over the smaller one with sounds so disgusting it was enough to make my stomach churn. I didn't falter and drove my blade deep through the giant's smooth exterior as it regained its original form, all the way to the hilt, and continued to pour on the pressure as Nepgear soared above me to slash the giant's face multiple times.

I lifted myself off the ground for even more force and plunged my sword arm deeper into the beast, but it showed no signs of pain whatsoever. Empowering my blade with flame I slowly worked my way through its gelatinous insides horizontally. "We're going to need...to come up with a plan for this one! Haaa!" It felt absolutely disgusting as I freed my arm from the blue devil as I also took a chunk of blue goo with me and soaking the ground with it. "Yech..." Watching the jelly settle on the ground sent shivers down my spine and distracted me for a moment, only to have my attention brought back by an oddly excited voice.

"I-I think I'm doing it!" I looked up to see Nepgear furiously attacking the monster's face, caving it in as even more blue jelly splashed down from above. "Ahaha, this...this is amazing! I can't remember the last time I've fought something so big!"

Nepgear's joyous flurry would've been a relief, although disturbing, had I not noticed that there was a small hole where the main Dogoo was. I looked all over the place except...behind us! I turned to see the tiny creep staring at us when suddenly a strange sound started up, as if something was hissing like a balloon being inflated. The giant didn't bother defending itself as it shrink, with that odd noise getting louder and louder, which could only mean one thing. "I think we need to back up, this isn't looking go-"

"BOWOOOOO!" A thunderous bark boomed before the giant Dogoo exploded into a mass of blue orbs, knocking me backwards and forcing Nepgear to the ground. We were stunned for a brief moment but the both of us were able to dodge an orb flying by us at alarming speeds before the rest of the pieces did the same.

"Split up!" I rolled to the side and boosted forward in an attempt to evade the barrage, but the pieces somehow tracked me and made a single pass before going to lone Dogoo. Nepgear was doing fine evading the shots flying at her, but I think that may be due to the surge of excitement that she's going through. We ended up dodging in a circular path and met even further away from the menacing Dogoo as it stood there studying our every move. "You don't have any info on what just happened?"

"N-no, there was nothing special in the reports I've read. I mean, no one's confronted the one that got away either so it might not have had a reason to go this far. I-oooh..." She went limp mid-sentence and dropped her sword, but I dashed forward to catch her as she fought to speak up again. "G-goodess...sorry, my legs are feeling rubbery all of a sudden. What's that noise?" I stared intently at her to see if she was alright as I heard something strange as well.

We both stayed silent and focused on the clanging noise that was growing distant with every second. Nepgear wasn't doing so well and was barely hanging in there thanks to fatigue, and to make matters worse the big one had gone missing and...the main culprit was getting away. The small Dogoo isn't even real, it's...metal!? Is such a thing even possible? And where'd that large one go? There's no way it could've escaped without being noticed, I only looked away for a few moments! I scanned the horizon, staying in my transformed state and vigilant, wondering where it could've bounced to when I felt a change in temperature thanks to...shade. In one quick motion I held my sword above our heads and stopped a potential disaster from happening! Rather, I only slowed down the giant Dogoo's fall and with only one hand I could only hold it up for so long. "Nepgear!" She responded groggily, the last thing we needed with threat of being smothered under something so...humiliating. "Nepgear, I need you to wake up!"

"Huhn?"

"I need you to blast through this thing before we-gah!" My wrist! This monster is getting heavier by the second and I don't know how much longer I can last! How did we end up coming across something silly yet so fierce? How is this damned thing so heavy? I looked down to see her helplessly reaching for her weapon, which was lying by my feet. "Gah...grab your...kh..." Lowering myself so she could retrieve her weapon put even more strain on my body but I refuse to let something like this get the best of us. I managed to support her back with my knee and she was able to re-equip herself after feeling around for our only hope.

"I just...need a few seconds...charge..." Her eyes were getting droopy as she pointed her sword at the ceiling of our blue prison, with a low hum filling the confined space as a small light shined in her weapon, slowly getting brighter as we lost more and more breathing room. "Uhh..." The light flickered as her aim wavered, but I gave her a quick shake and started talking in hopes that she'd stay awake long enough to take the shot.

"Keep it together Nepgear, you have to stay with me. Think of how sad Neptune would be if something happened to u-you." I'm going to have to leave myself out of this for the time being, there's something she's hiding from me and Neptune and now isn't the time risk upsetting her in any way. "She and Histoire would be devastated if you let this thing get the best of you." The light had regained its initial glow and began intensifying. "What about the other candidates? Who's going to be around to play with Rom or distract Ram for Blanc? Who's going to keep Uni on her toes and motivate her to do better?" If what she told me is true, she's going to need a lot of catching up just to be on par with Uni. But...I need to tell Neptune about this first before I can even think of trying to help. At least she looks like she's ready to fire, just a little more... "We all need you to pull through this. Just-"

Without warning she let loose a charged beam, nearly blinding me and piercing through our captor with ease. "N...Noire..." She fainted as she finished channeling her attack, clutching her weapon as blue goo splashed and scattered around us one final time. "S-sorry..." She reverted back to normal, leaving me to heave her on my back and trudge through the mess we've made.

We left the monster debris behind and I wasted no time in getting contact with Neptune through my digital phone. "Neptune...we need to talk."

There was a lot of noise going on in the background but it quieted down shortly after she shushed it. "You guys barely left, what's up?"

I don't know how to break the news to her so I guess I'll get right to it. "We decided to try our hand at a quest that Nepgear's been wanting to do with you and well...the unexpected happened. Turns out the main culprit is more than a simple Dogoo and we were nearly de-um, it...it got away." I waited to see if Neptune had anything to say and after a few seconds of silence I went on. "I'll be on my way back to Plane-"

"Don't." The serious tone in her voice made me tense up and I bit my tongue as Neptune began speaking. "I know I may not be the greatest sister in the world, and that I might've been a complete slob before we happened, but I kinda think she needs this. Not the attack but experience and she won't get a lot of that with me. I've let her spoil me for too long and she hasn't realized that we've both...started sucking. I've been trying to do some things on the side myself because Gear's gotten so used to taking it easy for my sake and I don't want to disappoint her by doing something she doesn't want to do so...yeah." It sounded like the phone moved away from her and I could've sworn I heard her sniffling for second. "You kind of whipped me back into shape and got me wanting to better myself again. I need you to do the same for my sister...please?"

I knew Neptune had no motivation to improve more than necessary, but her sister was on the verge of ending up the same way as well? That would explain how she ended up doing less and less with Uni and the twins. I didn't need to give it a second thought and nodded to myself; Neptune's teary request wouldn't go unanswered. "Of course. Don't worry, she's only fainted from all the excitement but if you and Uni ever find yourself wandering outside Planeptune, watch out for a pack of Dogoos. There's some a monster among them and-"

"Don't worry, Noire," Poor girl sounds like she's on the verge of breaking down now. "we won't be wandering outside too much. We're going to be too busy having fun inside and eating snacks!" Her sniffling and sobs immediately turned to laughter as the noise in the background came back on. "Seriously though, a pounding has done each of us some good. Gear's a tough girl, don't worry too much about her! I'm gonna soften up your sister and show her a good time, later!"

"Neptuuuuuune!" She hung up abruptly and left her sister and I in complete silence as I hovered my way towards Lastation. If I hadn't gotten to know Neptune as well as I do now, I'd be furious with how she ended our conversation. I've somehow come to understand how Neptune thinks and I know Uni is good hands and she believes the same thing...I just hope her sister feels the same way. Hm, I should probably give Kei a ring, the last thing I need to hear from her is concerns regarding 'unexpected changes to her work schedule'. "Good afternoon Kei. I need you to get Uni's bed ready for our guest."

"Nepgear, I presume?"

I can always count on her to be on the ball as usual. "Correct. She needs to rest up after our little ordeal. Could you get a wrist brace ready for me as well? I should probably take up another regimen soon..." There was no way to carry her without putting strain on my right hand, but I'm sure I can endure the trip back to Lastation. Have I been slacking off too much? I can't wrap my head around how Blanc is the most able-bodied one out of everyone when she's so small...maybe I should-

"Lady Noire?"

"Hm? Sorry, I was letting my thoughts wander."

"I was asking whether or not I should prepare a bath or a change of clothes as well. I assume she's coming here with none of her belongings with how sudden this happened, and it wouldn't do her any good to stay in those clothes she's working in."

"Oh, of course. I don't think she'll be awake in time for the bath so don't draw too much water. Nepgear's barely taller than my sister so her borrowing clothes shouldn't be a big issue." That and being the good friend she is already gave Uni permission to go through her things for an outfit.

"Very well, I'll have a hot bath ready by the time you both arrive." I nodded and grunted a little for confirmation. I began focusing on the journey at hand until Kei spoke up again. "Since it's just you taking a bath...would you prefer I use the special bubble mix?"

"H-how did you find out about that?" I thought I did a good job of keeping that concoction a secret! N-Neptune was goofing around one day and ended up making her own silly brand of bubble bath for me to try on my own and...it was surprisingly smoothing. Sure it reeked of strawberrys a little and she made too much of it, but I didn't want it to go to waste...

"I-I was only trying to lighten the mood. Forgive me, I shouldn't have joked around like that. I'll get started immediately and await your arrival."

"Wait, Kei!" I called out in a panic. "Before you go I just want to say...thanks." I must sound more exhausted than I thought if Kei is trying to joke around with me, and that's worrying. "Don't ever change, Kei."

"You couldn't pay me enough to." She smirked and hung up shortly afterward, leaving me back to my thoughts once again, although in a better mood. I don't know what I'd do without her, but I'm glad she ended up becoming my oracle. Well, she's the only one that was able to keep up with 'insane demands', according to the other women who failed to do so. I should've asked her to get some food ready as well but that may have been pushing my luck.

"I hope Uni knows better than to let Neptune have her way or else they'll never get anything done. No, course she does. No doubt she's keeping that pudding fiend on her toes, although I'll save that call for when I finally-tch, ow-when I get back though."


	3. Chapter 3

_Oh boy, preparations for the holidays were crazy but I'm glad it's over. Getting back into it still so sorry for the slow updates but there are some tricky chapters coming, like the tennis chapter back in the first BxP, so a quick yay or nay from you would be a huge help. I need to expand and practice different scenarios and whatnot, but I'm sure that you'll like how things end up._

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"Aaaaah..."

"Is everything to your liking, my Lady?"

Kei had done an amazing job at drawing the bath, balancing the hot water and bubbly consistency from the special mix that I've made her swear to keep quiet about. She even helped me get Nepgear into Uni's bed, although neither of us attempted to get her into cleaner clothes right away. Sure we're doing this to get closer to each other but I think it's best if I take my time with this. "You've done well, as usual. How's our work looking?" I wonder how far I've fallen behind thanks to my little promise to Neptune. I beckoned for her to answer and winced, forgetting about the strain I had put on my right hand from earlier. She was hesitating so I could only assume the worst. "Should I even be in here right now?"

"We're...par for the course actually. You can afford to relax a little." She's looking pretty stuffy, not to mention silly, standing there in her suit just talking to me and it's times like these I wonder if she should be the one taking a break. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to keep it that way."

"Wait a minute! Are you really going to leave me in here by myself?"

"Yes. Is this a problem?"

"N-no..." How am I supposed to say I don't want to be lonely without directly saying it? I've gotten so used to being with Uni or even trying with Neptune again that I don't want to go back to bathing alone. No, I won't...I can't! Think, there has to be a way to get her to jump in with me...hm... "Wh-what if something happens to my wrist and I need help?"

"Lady Noire, you know better than anyone that we have a system in place for an emergency like that." She moved closer to the side of the tub and touched the corner, revealing a panel with a small intercom in it. She gave it a quick tap and her voiced reverberated in the room, making me jump a little despite being ready for the call. "If there's a problem, I'm a button press away." As a result of her little demonstration I ended up getting a little water on her and she wiped it away immediately...that's it!

"I'm letting my arm soak so it wouldn't do me any good moving it around. Could you at least look at it before leaving? You know, as a favor?" This is my last chance, I need to make it count. Lifting my arm for her to examine my wrist stung a little, but I just need to wait for the perfect moment...now! I grabbed her hand and did everything in my power to drag her down with me, but she pulled away in time and I only got one of her sleeves wet. "S-see? Who knows what kind of trouble I'll get into without someone around. In case my wrist acts up. Again. In here all by myself." Hurry up and get the hint already.

Kei sighed, took her jacket off, folded it neatly and put it off to the side before folding her arms and glaring at me with a slightly red face. "If you insist on acting like a child I'll treat you as such." As your goddess I could've easily made this an order, oracle. "Please turn around."

Looking the other way is the least I could do for her, she's unusually touchy when it comes to herself. Her body, specifically, and this isn't the first time she's evaded a situation where there was a chance of her skin being exposed. This has been going on for as long as I can remember, so long in fact that everyone is starting to come up with their own crazy ideas as to why she hides herself so much, with the most popular topic being...well...it's fairly obvious. After a light splash and hearing her move around a bit I turned around to see her almost entirely covered in bubbles. I was ready to ask her if something was wrong when I saw how red in the face she was, and I got this sudden urge to continue 'acting like a child'. "Ms. Jinguji, are you hiding something from your goddess?" Maybe I can learn a thing or two having fun with Kei, it might even help me with my own problems.

"No." She pulled even more bubbles towards herself and refused to budge. "I..." Kei's hesitation got me thinking about something other than the rumors floating around her, but at the same time if I don't get to the bottom of this mystery it will continue to be a bother.

"You know, we rarely get a chance to sit and talk like this. Come closer, we aren't strangers." I knew she wasn't going to move so I got on my knees and made my over to where she was to make myself comfortable. She tried to get away but I reeled her back towards me with my left hand and sat shoulder to shoulder with her, with no resistance since she was still covering herself up. Now that I think about it, we really don't talk a lot. Why bother with silly mysteries like that when I can find out how we managed to get caught up on work? "So Ms. Jinguji," I'll still mess with her a little though, she's asking for it with the way she's acting. Can't hurt to practice mixing work and pleasure. "how exactly did we get back on track?" If anything we should be falling behind with the way I've been taking breaks and having fun, mostly at Neptune's request.

Kei looked away from me and nearly whispered her answer. "Your work output has increased shortly after your first incident with Neptune. I mean when you and Neptune...forgive me, I didn't intend for it to sound negative. Despite your shorted work sessions you've worked more efficiently, finishing up more work faster." She pulled my hand off of her and scooted a few inches away from me. "You mustn't let this get to your head though, you never know when work will pile up again." She paused and looked up at me, still covering her chest while trying to look at my other arm. "Let me see your wrist."

I could've easily taken the chance to face her and see what she's hiding, but I think I've done enough to her for now. Out of respect for her personal space I turned around and let her see my injured wrist, although I wish I had moved into a better position. "I'm not planning on getting out yet, so the brace can wait."

She grabbed my wrist gently and began slowly massaging it...clumsily, might I add. "I've only had experience doing this with Uni to relieve her of tension after her practice. Forgive me if my skill isn't adequate."

Maybe it's a good thing I was facing away from her, she's not that great of a masseuse but I'll give her credit for trying. I steeled myself for every stroke and pass she made in order to hide the pain she was putting me through. "Haa...th-thanks Kei..." I wonder how much longer I can last under her 'therapeutic' care. Kh...this is starting to hurt a little too much I think, I'm hearing light footsteps and last I checked Uni was gone and Nepgear was asleep.

"Um, excuse me." Or so I thought, but I turned to see her walking into the room slowly with a worried look on her face. "Do you mind if I hop in with you? I feel...dirty..."

"Of course I want you to, you need to relax after what we've been through. I thought you needed the rest so I let you get some sleep." The second I told her it was alright there was a loud splash and water went flying everywhere. I wiped the bubbles from my eyes and barely caught a glimpse of Kei wrapping herself in towel, gathering her clothes, and bowing in rush all while skillfully keeping herself hidden.

"As you can see my services are no longer required here. If you'll excuse me now..." She was gone before I even had a chance to try and stop her, even though her services were doing more harm than good. Now that Nepgear is here to keep me comp-I mean, to refresh herself Kei was free to leave but an even bigger issue has come up...how am I going to talk to her? She might not even like me after what I've been putting her sister through with the way she acted earlier. Maybe if I'm lucky her little nap will have gotten her in a better mood.

"Aah, hot hot hot..." Oh no, she's already in the tub! Just like Kei she sat on the other side and made herself comfortable. "I don't remember Neptune ever letting the water get this hot, but it feels really good. The bubble bath smells familiar too, what is it?" Of all the things...ugh, there's no point in trying to avoid this topic I suppose.

"It's...something Neptune threw together for me. Aha..." I ended up giggling like an idiot while she looked at me like I've lost my mind. "I-I'm only using it because she made too much of the stuff and I don't want it going to waste."

"Oh." Her only response made my heart sink a little as we both sat still...staring at each other...for what seemed like an eternity until she broke the silence. "Do you love Neptune?"

"What? That's a silly question, of course I do! What made you think otherwise?" If I keep the momentum in my favor, I should be able to answer her clearly without freaking out like I often do in Neptune's presence. The last thing I want to do is seem like the unreliable one in the relationship...although I wouldn't really call Neptune that either. "Is it because of how she ends up sometimes?" She'd hardly be able to control herself if she were in my shoes, sometimes I still can't believe we happened.

"No, I just wanted to hear you say that, sorry. ...you didn't ask that because of what I said earlier, did you?" She said with a surprised look on her face. "I didn't mean I don't want you hurting my sister in a bad way. It's just...when I think of you and her together, and when she walks around without a care in the word whether or not she's hurt with a smile on her face and talks about you...I get...upset." There has to be more to the way she's feeling, she certain doesn't sound mad or anything. If anything I'd say it's something else stirring inside her but she can't quite figure it out. "It's like, I want to spend even more time with her now that you've come around but-"

"Jealousy." It was something so simple and it was staring her right in the face. I can't blame her for not knowing exactly what was going on in her head since Neptune hasn't spent a lot of time with someone other than her. "You just want to take my spot and be the one hurting your sister, right?"

"Yeah!" She answered enthusiastically until we both realized what I had said. "M-minus the hurting her part!"

"O-of course!" I need to watch what I say around her from now on, I really can't let anything too big slip out at a time like this. Hm...she wants to spend more time with Neptune...but that would cut into my time with her unless they managed to do more work toge-oh, I got it! "What if you did more exciting quests with your sister?" She gave me a confused look so I decided to explain more because there are far better things to hunt than Dogoos. "Think of quests like snacks for Neptune, and that you've been feeding her the same old snack every chance you got. After a while things got kind of...boring, no offense, so it's time to move on to something new and exciting munch on." Did I really just say all that? That was quite possibly the silliest thing I've ever come up with, now I look like a fool.

"So...small things have gotten stale for her?" She picked up a small clump of bubbles before letting her hand drop back in the water. "Now that you mention it, things have gotten pretty boring for me as well. I only picked out the weak quests because I thought that's what Neptune wanted." This time she scooped up a load of bubbles with both hands and blew them gently, with a few of them reaching me as they scattered about the bath water. "I think I realized that when we were fighting the Dogoos. At first I was treating it like stress relief but then when the big one showed I...I think I lost control a little. The more I fought the more I got excited and in the end it's my fault you're hurt."

"You shouldn't blame herself, it was my fault for letting that giant get the jump on us." I think I've soaked in here long enough, but I'm curious as to what Nepgear plans to do try and get her sister interested in questing with her again. "So what are you going to do now that you've gotten a taste of a real fight?"

"I want to get stronger! Not just for Neptune but for myself as well!" She stood up triumphantly with pumped fists, dripping and covered in a convenient veil of suds. "I want to fight tougher stuff with her and have even bigger adventures!"

"Nepgear..." Her resolve is strong I'll give her that, but I wonder if she can handle an impromptu training session. "since you're under my care for the time being how would you like to spar with the best? You might even learn something new and surprise Uni as well."

She beamed a bright smile down towards me and nodded, completely forgetting that she standing in the middle of a tub and would've been entirely naked had it not been for the makeshift outfit of scented bubbles she wore. I nodded down towards her body to see if she'd catch on and sure enough she did, panicking and leaping out of the tub in search of a towel. "G-goodness, I'm sorry! The bath reminded me of Planeptune and I got too comfy and-"

"Don't worry about it. Get yourself dried off and put on some new clothes." She excitedly left to go get changed before I saw finished speaking, but I can't blame her since she'll be learning from yours truly. "Meet me in the training room when you're done!" First things first though, I need to dry my right arm off, get a brace on, and get ready to show Nepgear how we do things in Lastation. I still wonder how Uni's doing in that regard, so maybe I'll give her a call after this session...then again, there's no telling how long I'll be drilling Nepgear so I should probably do it now. As soon as I got in my room I gave her a call and just like with Neptune there was a lot of noise in the background.

"Yeah?"

"'Yeah'?"

"Uh oh!" It sounded like she slapped her hand against the receiver as the background noise died down. "Um, hey Noire, how's Gear treating you?"

"What's going on over there?" She's acting as suspicious as Neptune when she's doing something she knows she isn't supposed to, and I swear I've heard that music before. "Are you...playing video games?"

"Wh-what? No, Neptune was showing off her dance pad and and doing a Galaxy Program speed ru-"

"Sprinkle! You're supposed to sprinkle the truth on whatever you say!"

Uni fell silent as Neptune's words seemed to echo into the room. "Y-you didn't hear that!"

"Did I make a mistake leaving you in Neptune's care?" As much as I want to discipline her for even thinking about taking Neptune's advice I'm already prepared for training Nepgear. My sister on the other hand is already beginning to slack and it hasn't even been a day. I won't tell her to work the entire time she's there but I don't want her to waste time fooling around with MY-"I'll tell you what," I-I can't let myself get jealous of my own sister spending time with Neptune, I'm not a child. Now I understand where Nepgear stands but she needs to occupy herself with someone else when the adults want to do their own thing. "if you learn at least one thing from Neptune I'll try to glance over...whatever it is you're doing right now."

She and Neptune gasped at the prospect of being able to do whatever they want as long as something was gained from all of this. "Really? What happens if I don't?" She's right to sound nervous, and I'm glad Neptune is eavesdropping on this conversation because this applies to her as well.

"Let's just say that the both of you will wish you were on Blanc's training regimen after I'm done with you." I have no idea how I'm going to top that honestly, Vert isn't exactly the most athletic person I know and from what I've been hearing...I'm surprised she's hanging in there. They don't need to know I'm bluffing though.

"Whoa wait, both of us? Come on Noire don't be-"

I had to hang up on them because I'm sure Neptune would've found a way to sweet talk herself out of this, leaving Uni to suffer all on her own...if they keep this up that is. It felt good putting a little scare into the both of them though, I just hope I didn't go too far mentioning Blanc. Well, I better get something ready just in case they do slack off too much, but I need to focus on what's going on now. After getting into my practice outfit, I went to the training room and tightened my hand right to test its limits and it felt like the bath and brace did wonders for it. I'm not sure if it'll be enough for me to fight seriously, but now is the time to find out. I arrived in the training room to be greeted immediately by Nepgear holding two practice swords. "Sorry to have kept you waiting." I grabbed a sword and motioned for her to move a few steps back while I took a few practice swings. "Tch...no good, even with this..."

"That's alright, I'll just try to do some new things on my own. You shouldn't hurt yourself on my account."

"Do you really think something like this will stop me?" I tossed my weapon into my other hand and skillfully swung it few times. It was nothing fancy but it's been a long time since I've had to fight like this. "I'll be fine. Being this proficient with a sword is expected when you're as good as I am." I back-stepped and stood straight up, my right hand on my hip, and pointed at Nepgear with my weapon. "We'll start with basic strikes and work our way up." I only plan on parrying her first barrage of attacks to gauge what needs to...what is she doing?

"H-hang on." She tucked her shirt a little and pulled up her shorts just a bit before sighing in relief. She moved around to try out her new alterations and nodded to herself before looking at me with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "Don't tell Uni I asked again but does she...um?"

I stared at her, dumbfounded, wondering what she was getting at with a question like-oh no. Oh no, this won't do, this is a topic I can't discuss at all. Ever. Uni swore me to secrecy the first time she was questioned and said that if I ever spoke of that subject with anyone she would never forgive me. "How about you we just get on with our lesson?"

"I was only-"

"How about that lesson?" I'm sorry Nepgear but this is one of the few things I won't even let you discuss in my presence.

"I guess I have to ask her about her big butt myself..." She clearly muttered to herself before running towards me. Is Uni really bigger than Nepgear in some aspects? I always thought-"Watch out Noire!"

She came down at me with a two-handed strike, but I easily blocked her weapon with mine and angled it downward, using her own power and inexperience against her and turning her around. Before she could recover I gave her a swift, gentle kick to her rear and sent her tumbling away from me. "How many times have I said to not worry about me?" She rolled and regained her footing before turning to face me again with a look of fierce determination in her eyes. What better way than to retrain my other sword arm than to do so with Neptune's sister? "The sooner you land a hit on me the better! Now, show me the strength and potential of Planeptune!" I might be letting myself get carried away, but the thought of dealing a new opponent gives me goosebumps.


	4. Chapter 4

_Holidays, health and weather...a combination of unfortunate events got mixed in with those and it's amazing how badly things can get slowed down. Vehicles freezing over, getting sick at the slightest (read: REALLY cold) breeze, and my old laptop itself acting wonky and refusing to start up immediately on some occasions. That last fear won't ever happen again hopefully because I've upgraded and finally managed to find wordpad...which wouldn't be an accomplishment but Windows 8 is weird. ANYWAY, you didn't come here to read a rant, you came here for Neptunia stuff and I do good news in regards to that. Obviously I'm able to get back to writing comfortably but I'm revising an unfinished piece of work and this time I plan on keeping that in the right direction. But I'll get more into that when the time comes, for now, enjoy Noire time. (Also, sorry ahead of time if I've missed something, all this cold has made me rusty.)  
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"Why!?" The sounds of our wooden swords filled the room with loud, solid clacks as Nepgear helplessly attacked me. Still wielding her weapon with two hands she tried coming from several directions and each attempt was met with failure. An attack from behind? I kept my back to her and tricked her into believing I was vulnerable and evaded while knocking her to the ground. Attacks from the side were no better and I even disarmed her a few times, whereas from the front...well, I hardly needed to put effort into protecting myself. For some reason she tried another overhead smash, but I didn't even bother deflecting it and stepped a few sword lengths away, watching her stumbling forward onto her knees and hands. "Why can't I hit you!?"

"I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you; you're nowhere near my level. You aren't even near Neptune's, despite the way she acts." I wish I knew where Neptune got her strength from, one moment she's in over her head and the next she's already achieved victory. There has to be some secret she's keeping from everyone else, and I'm sure it isn't related to her shares or her technique. I kept my sword arm pointed at her as I went on with my speech. "I'm afraid you won't be having as much fun with me as you would with Neptune. It's just not within me to take sparring lightly." There's something off about Nepgear, aside from her growing frustration, but I can't quite pinpoint what it is.

She sat up, hunched over, leaning on her hands, and spoke without even turning to face me. "S-so I'm...weak?"

"To put it bluntly, yes. Don't take it personally, everyone has their highs and lows and this is likely the first of many." I tapped my foot to signal for her to get up. Moping around isn't going to change anything and she needs to learn that now. "I don't go easy on Uni and I especially won't be doing you any favors, being Neptune's sister and all." She did her best to hide her sniffling and wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood up and once again she came at me, fueled with desperation and more open than before with this attack. Wait a minute, that's what the problem is! Nepgear's never fought holding her saber with two hands, and she's never had a reason to before. "Nepgear wait, I think I fou-" I almost let my own guard down in an attempt to speak to her and almost got struck in the head by another overheard attack.

"I'll do it! I'll land a hit before we're done!"

"Nepgear!" I've had experience dealing with Neptune's playful tantrums but this is an entirely different thing when the girl in question is serious. She's flailing all over the place and trying to parry her without doing too much harm was getting harder with each strike. I can feel myself losing my grip, I don't know how much I longer I can defend myself with this hand! "Nepgear, listen to me, you need to-" She wasn't paying attention at all, I need to end this before one of us seriously gets hurt. I tightened my grip and waited for my chance to strike...

She stopped for a brief moment and came at me again with a clockwise, spinning attack that, while impressive, was completely reckless and filled with openings I'd easily be able to take advantage of...with my dominant hand. Nepgear was spinning almost as fast as Falcom, so if I can wait it out and-kh! Her hair! I didn't take into account her hair being so much longer and I was nearly whipped in the face by it. I shielded my face with my injured hand and stepped forward, forcing her to attack sooner than she had planned. Luckily her strike didn't have force properly applied to it like our resident adventuress, and I was able to awkwardly defend myself. While we were clashing I shifted my weight while taking her weapon, and knocked her back onto the ground with my shoulder. She landed with a soft thud and looked up at me with an extremely distressed look on her face as her eyes welled up.

"What? I'm sure Uni's mentioned how strict I am when it came to honing our skills. There's no point in crying, especially when you're at fault for-"

"She did, and she's right! It's no wonder she complains so much! Y-you-" Nepgear pulled her knees up to her chest and broke down into tears. "I can't do it! I can't fight like my sister after all..."

I threw our swords away and took a seat next to her to try and comfort her, but she wasn't having any of it and scooted sideways away from me and let her tears flow. Have I become such a tyrant at home that Uni can't even speak to me? I knew she wasn't a fan of how I did things but is it really as bad as Nepgear is making it out to be? Maybe I should just let her...do her own thing now. She's old enough to make her own decisions after all, even though I've already figured out what's best for her particular style of...n-no! I-I am as horrible as they make me out to be! I've been deadset on deciding everything for Uni for so long that she's probably at her limits by now...and all it took was pushing the other most important person in my world's little sister to the point of tears. I wanted to reach out to her again but I decided against it and just spoke calmly to her. "Why are you trying to fight like your sister?" Just talk it out Nepgear...

"I thought-hic...I thought that if I fought like her she'd want to be around me more but it wasn't any use. She never noticed and we finished quests like-hic-like usual..." She nearly slammed into me with a hug, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why? Does she not love me anymore?"

"Of course she loves you, she'll always love you." I carefully wrapped my arm around her and she flinched a little, but I held on tight and tried calming her down. "You know how Neptune can get with food but I've said my piece using that." I'll spare her and myself from that embarrassing example again. "Two fighting styles that are similar aren't as effective as two unique ones. Would you find fighting with Uni remotely interesting if she tried fighting exactly like you?" She paused for a moment and shook her head. "Look at Ram and Rom; at a glance they both seem like your typical casters but they both fight differently. Rom specializes in more defensive spells while her sister uses more offensive ones. Their styles compliment each other well and that's what makes them a deadly combination, which is why..." I paused a bit for emphasis, "...you need to find yourself a sparring partner. You don't want to fall behind, do you?"

She had finally stopped crying, groggily stood up, and walked towards the swords and picked one up again. She took a few practice swings with her right hand with excellent form, and even performed a few of her moves perfectly in silence. The first of which being a few steps in one of her techniques, Mirage Dance I believe, followed by the special move she used earlier today. A small wave of energy fiercely shot out from her sword that was much more potent and controlled than the one she used earlier, and it fizzled just before reaching the wall.

I got up and brushed myself off before going to pick up my own sword when Nepgear stopped practicing and looked at me. Through her tear-stained eyes I could see a newfound glint of certainty; the time for words were over. Having gone back to her true fighting stance I can properly gauge where her strength lies in relation to everyone else. I took a quick step towards her, making her jump back quite a ways, and got into a more aggressive stance to show that it was my turn to be on the offensive. With my right hand behind me I ran towards Nepgear, trying to analyze the slightest movement to plan my first attack when she finally shifted her left foot behind her. No doubt she plans on actually blocking me, so I suppose I'll humor her effort and see if she has what it takes to do so. Seeing someone in action is completely different from actually dealing with them and Neptune certainly enjoys making things look easy, so Nepgear probably thinks she can do the same. As I approached her I gracefully spun once and stomped in between her feet, meeting her face to face to avoid being entirely predictable by attacking right away.

"Gah!" Unfortunately my attempt at testing her fortitude resulted in her stumbling backwards a little and she lost her confident stance. Since most foes won't wait for her to recover I pressed on the assault and took another step forward, bringing down my sword straight towards her head. As I had hoped she blocked with her fake blade, but she needed to hold it near the tip with her other hand as well to prevent a solid bump to her noggin. "Kh! N...Noi..."

I had gained the upper hand and forced her to one knee, locking my sword with hers and watching as she trembled under my power. "Now isn't the time for you to be talking!" I leaned forward, forcing her to both knees as I mercilessly overpowered her. "Concentrate! Free yourself or get crushed!" That...came out much more threatening than I had intended it to. I don't want her to get too hurt but I also don't want to let up and show her mercy either, she needs to free herself with her own power. Her guard was faltering more and more with each second that passed and at this rate... "Nepgear!"

Even though her face had gotten red from trying to hold me back she finally started to make her move. She abandoned the idea of keeping her guard up and slammed her left hand on the ground, and used that for support as she twisted her body a little and tried to sweep me with both legs. There was a reason I had put so much pressure on the poor girl; I knew she wouldn't attempt to attack unless I gave her a chance and her being at a disadvantage severely limited her options. I effortlessly somersaulted over her and watched as she failed to complete her sweep and fell to her side as I got into position to land properly.

After sticking the landing I turned to see Nepgear still lying on her side struggling to get up. She was visibly shaking as she did her best to just sit up, but even that seemed to be too much for her. I-I only attacked once as a test, I didn't mean to completely drain her like this. "...I can understand if you want to stop now..." I really am a monster if my own sister would rather vent with other people than to talk over her concerns with me. How could I have been so blind to how she felt about my methods? Why can't I stop myself from pushing others like this? I understand Neptune and the other goddesses and can give them my all without a second thought, and I thought I could do the same for my own sister, but this is proof that I'm just an overbearing person that can't control herself. I'm a monst-"Hm?"

My thoughts were interrupted by Nepgear's shudders as she got on her feet. The sight of her having trouble standing back up made me both proud and worried for her; I'm glad she's gathered the will to stand and fight to the bitter end but at the same time I'm afraid that she won't want anything to do with me after this since. I can't help myself though...and seeing her turn to face me confirmed that. I readied myself and waited for her to do the same and I lunged forward, intentionally missing her with my first poke. Her evading was sloppy at best, but the fact that she was able to react quick enough in the first place is enough for me even though these weren't serious attempts at hitting her. With each dodge it took more and more time for her to recover and eventually I didn't even have to go through most of my motions. Just feinting was enough to get her move out of my way and-

A knock at the door distracted me and before I could answer Kei had already stepped in. "Lady Noire, you have a visitor." Casual untucked white button-up shirt? Sleek black pants? This is the first time I've seen Kei outside of her uniform and...I think I'm at a loss for words. Had her timing been better I would've loved to give her a brief interrogation but that will have to wait. "Shall I tell them to now is not the time?"

"No, I think it's best I go see what they want and give Nepgear a chance to rest." For some reason it felt like something light landed on my shoulder and it certainly wasn't my hair. I glanced to my side to see the tip of a sword resting on me, with an exhausted young candidate standing behind me. "Can you make sure she's ok while I take care of this?" Kei nodded and briskly walked towards me and eased Nepgear off of me so I can attend to the guest that's requested for me personally. Was it me or did Kei smell a little like...perfume as well? Thoughts of what Kei did in her spare time, what little of it she had anyway, filled my head while I approached and opened the front door to the basilicom.

"Heeeeeey Noire! Why're you in gym clothes?"

"Ram?" What in the world is she doing here? "Where's Blanc? Did something happen?"I could understand Rom going out on her own but...

"Nope, I'm on a mission!" She pulled out her little console and began tapping the screen with her stylus before staring me dead in the eye with a serious expression on her face before pointing at me with a dramatic tone that rang out from her device. "Grillin' time! What is the goddess of Lastation's favorite fruit!?" I stood in the door dumbfounded as her question echoed throughout the room behind me. It was only a matter of seconds before Ram got frustrated by my confusion. "Come ooon, I need an answer! I can't stand here all day."

"Oh right." I never really thought about my favorite fruit but if I had to choose it'd be-"A little bit of everything. Err, no, strawberry if I had to choose only one." This...is actually a difficult question to answer. Each fruit does have its own merits but I do have a soft spot for strawberries after all, at least I think I do, but at the same time-

"Great, thanks!" Ram happily said as she jotted down my answer in on the bottom screen of her handheld. "Oh, and I have a message from my sister. 'Get your asses some fancy clothes. Your cosplay crap is fine. You'll find out soon enough.'"

She saluted me and skipped off before I reached out to her, but I realized my questions were already answered. I assumed by 'asses' she meant Neptune as well, so I wonder what she has in store for us...and why Ram was wandering around by herself. I let the door close by itself and made my way back to the training room to see Kei kneeling down next to Nepgear. "Wh-what happened!?" I ran to see if she was hurt but, to my surprise, all was well. She was simply lying there with a smile on face and seemed to be...at peace.

"Shortly after you left she collapsed and was mumbling to herself. I'm not sure what she meant but the the only thing she said that I could understand was 'I got a hit in'. I believe she also tried to mutter a thank you as well before..."

"That's a relief. Mind helping me get her back in bed? I don't think we've worked hard enough to warrant another bath and well...personally bathing her is out of the question." I think I'll spare Nepgear my training for the remainder of her stay unless she really, really wants to go at it again. Neptune approved of me handling her but I don't think she's ready to go up against me just yet. Maybe I can convince Uni to train to with with her, at the very least they'll both have someone their own age and skill level to take their frustrations out on.

"As you wish." Kei carefully propped Nepgear on my left shoulder and made sure she was secured as I stood up. "What are your plans for her tomorrow?"

"I'll think of something Kei," I said as we left the training room. "I might let her do her own thing and leave her be. It seems I can't hold back like Neptune after all, and if I hurt her sister neither of them would ever forgive me."

"They wouldn't have agreed to this if that were the case." I stayed silent and let Kei's surprisingly wise words sink for a moment. "You worry yourself over irrelevant things. Neptune has complete faith in you, despite the injuries you brought upon her. Nepgear on the other hand sees you as a woman that's worthy of looking up to due to your history and newfound relation with her older sister." She had some harsh words as well but she has a point. We were nearing Uni's room now and I finally decided to speak up as we tucked Nepgear in.

"I'm impressed. I thought you were all business and had no interest in the affairs of others."

"The happiness and well-being of my Lady is my business." She said with a slight blush as we lightly stepped out of the room and closed the door.

"Oh? If that's the case then you won't mind chatting with me tonight. We're caught up on work, Nepgear will surely be asleep until morning, and I need some comp-I mean, I'm bored." I took the lead and went towards the kitchen to prepare a light snack for our inevitable heart to heart. "It seems I need to get to know more people than Neptune anyway...starting with you."

"Y-yes, my Lady."


End file.
